Sorry for responding rather late, but I see that you still have not received a satisfactory response on this forum. Here is how it works:

Any business registration requires a SSN to be linked to so that the liability and security matters are linked to the SSN owner. Since you do not have any, you need to find a person who has one and is willing to partner with you into the business even if the person does not get actively involved. You could still own majority stock of the partnership, and there has to be a partnership agreement in place (you need to consult a lawyer on this). The business can initially only be registered in the residential state where the SSN owner resides. Should you require to move states, you will be required to find another person in that state who will be willing to stand for you, but this time, you will not go through the entire registration process again. You will be expected to comply with the state laws of this new state.

This is a highly simplified explanation. should you require a more detailed information, feel free to call me on 929 499 4384 or drop me a mail as I will be glad to share the info with you.

To my knowledge you will a SSN, the EIN is secondary or vice versa. To be able to do business they have to validate who you truly are. Seems to be to fight a new thing they started to stop funding of terroism.

If the owner's visa is still valid , they can go to any BOFA or other banks who have the foreign account branch and open an personal checking with their foreign passport. After establishing an relationship and an active account, then you open a business checking account. In the meantime I had an customer who obtained an Tax ID # and had no SSN (basically what you should do, any place that asks for SSN you simply input the TAX ID #), and he was able to open a business checking account and even a credit card processing. It is like same way , that you don't have an TAX ID ,just obtained an DBA as Sole Proprietor , any place that TAX ID is required , you simply are using your SSN instead , so the same way you have to do for your case. The suggested bank, would be BOFA. Please Keep me posted from your outcome.

You can obtain an EIN without a SSN by faxing the SS4 form to the IRS. It takes about 4 business days to obtain the number. On the line that asks for the SSN enter foreign. Make sure the form is completed, signed and dated.

We have many foreign clients and have no problem obtaining an EIN without a SSN.

Hi humboldtian! You've received some great advice here, and we just wanted to follow up with you and see how things were going. Please feel free to update us and ask any additional questions that you may have.

It looks like you're just starting. I suggest not to hire accountant, bookkeeper and business lawyer. These are all business overheads you don't want to be in right away. You can explore possibilities of hiring a bookkeeper once the business is up and running.

As much as possible you have to do things on your own since it's a learning experience. I was trying to think when I registered a DBA/Fictitious Name if a TIN (Tax ID Number) was a substitute to SSN. After you get the DBA you can already apply for EIN. The bank checks the certified seal at the back of the DBA form. If your name is for example ABC Services get a DBA on this name. Attach DBA with your EIN to apply for a bank account.

Search for answers

Ask the community

Most of the time, you just want to find content that has a particular phrase. Here are the easiest ways to find the content you want.

Enclose your search phrase in quotes. Search will try to find content with those words in the order you enclosed them. A search for "marketing advice" is going to return content with the phrase "marketing advice".

Search for content that has certain words, but not necessarily all of the words in order. This is the most basic search. Simply enter your search terms. For example: accept credit cards This will search for documents containing the words accept, credit, and cards

Using OR. The OR operator links two terms and finds a matching document if either of the terms exist in a document. To search for documents that contain either "web design" or just "online marketing" use the query: "web design" OR "online marketing"

Using AND. The AND operator says that the search should return content in which all of the search terms are present. To search for documents that contain both "web design" and just "online marketing" use a search like this: "web design" AND "online marketing"

We would appreciate having your voice in the Small Business Community. You can participate in a number of ways.

Start a discussion in our member-to-member forums. By participating in the Small Business Community, our members gain knowledge and connections that give them a competitive advantage in building a successful business. Take advantage of the collective experience and expertise of the community to get small business ideas and help with a specific question or business challenge.

To post your question in our community, in the “Ask the community” section, from the drop-down, select the category that you’d like to post to, then click the “Start a Discussion” button. If you simply want to introduce yourself to the community, please select the “Introduce Yourself” category.

Note: you must be a logged-in member of the community to post a discussion. Please login or become a member to participate.

Share your small business story. Do you have an interesting story to tell related to your small business? Have some advice for other entrepreneurs to help them avoid some of the pitfalls of small business ownership? We invite you to share your story with the Small Business Community. Click the “Share Your Story” link and simply answer the questions in our Share Your Story template.

Answer a question. Are you an expert in a particular area of running and growing a successful small business? Would you like to help other small business entrepreneurs by answering their questions? We would appreciate your expertise in the Small Business Community. Please click the “Answer a Question” link to see a list of the open questions asked by members of the community.

Bank of America is not responsible for user posts and other user content appearing on this website and does not endorse or guarantee the perspectives, the advice, the users, the businesses, or the products or services sold by any users or businesses that appear on this website.